ProRodeo Sports News - July 8, 2022

GREELEY STAMPEDE GREELEY, COLO. Mayfield wins second straight crown Back-to-Back BY PATRICK EVERSON Special to ProRodeo Sports News A few days ahead of the Fourth of July, Shad Mayfield decided to provide some early fireworks of his own at the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede. Mayfield, the 2020 PRCA Tie-Down Roping World

TOP MONEY WINNER TOP SCORES

Shad Mayfield ($11,225, tie- down roping) BAREBACK RIDING

Champion, got out of the box quickly in Greeley, splitting second and third with Riley Webb in the first go-round with a 7.4-second run. That was just behind Chantz Webster’s winning time of 7.2 seconds, and Mayfield pocketed $3,371. In the second go, Mayfield’s 9.3 was out of the money, but still kept him in the average for the final-night short go June 30. And he took full advantage, winning in 7.8 seconds to earn $1,566. More important, Mayfield’s 24.5-second total time on three head gave him the Greeley average title, good for another $6,287 at the NFR Playoff Series presented by PendletonWhisky stop. All told, Mayfield pulled out of Greeley with a wallet-fattening $11,225. “That’s not bad at all. I’ll take it,” Mayfield said, noting his two money- winning efforts came aboard his best horse, Rampage, while he rode his backup horse in the second go. “I drew pretty good calves, but I just felt good about my roping.” And he feels even better about the Greeley pen, having now won the Stampede average two years in a row. “I like that arena a lot. I like the setup. It’s a pretty cool arena,” Mayfield said, before alluding to his winning strategy. “I took every run as a one-header and used what I had to go as fast as I could. I just had to step up and out rope everyone else tonight.” Mission accomplished. And with that, before the calendar even reached July, Mayfield broke through the $100,000 mark for the season. “Last year at this point, I didn’t have anywhere close to as much money won as this year,” Mayfield said. “I had a really good winter, and I’m having a good summer. It’s really clicking for the winter and summer.” Success seems to followMayfield at every stage, even at just 21 years old. In 2018, he was the National High School Rodeo Association Tie-Down Champion. In 2019, he reached his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, finishing 12th in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. Then in 2020 – with the Wrangler NFR held in Arlington, Texas, due to COVID restrictions in Nevada –Mayfield lassoed his first gold buckle. He earned his third straight NFR berth in 2021, winning Rounds 2 and 4 en route to finishing seventh in the world standings. Mayfield is well on his way to a fourth consecutive NFR, and he credits his mind as much as anything else.

Mayfield

1. Keenan Hayes .............. 171 pts. on 2 (Tie) Dean Thompson .................. 171 3. Anthony Thomas . .................... 170.5 STEER WRESTLING 1. Cash Robb .................. 13.1 sec. on 3 2. Bryton Edmundson .................... 13.3 3. Trell Etbauer ............................... 14.1 (Tie) Don Payne ......................... 14.1 TEAM ROPING 1. Ward/Hawkins II ......... 15.8 sec. on 3 2. Rogers/Davis ............................. 16.1 3. White/White ............................... 17.0 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Hardy Braden ............... 175 pts. on 2 2. Wyatt Casper ........................... 170.5 3. Shorty Garrett .......................... 168.5 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Shad Mayfield ............. 24.5 sec. on 3 2. Zack Jongbloed . ........................ 25.1 (Tie) Riley Webb ........................ 25.1 BARREL RACING 1. Shelley Morgan ......... 49.39 sec. on 3 2. Lisa Lockhart ........................... 49.43 3. Paige Jones ............................. 50.08 BULL RIDING

COWBOY CHRISTMAS TOP SCORES “I feel like my mental game is tougher this year than it’s ever been. And that’s very important,” he said. “I think it’s the biggest thing. You’ve got to be mentally tough. You could go two to three rodeos without winning anything, and you’ve got to be mentally tough enough to bounce back. It happens to everybody. You’ve got to know how to get out of that and win the next one.” Mayfield’s consistency certainly shows that he’s figured that out in fairly short order on the PRCA circuit. Now he’s just got to keep it going as he works to put himself in the best possible position come early December in Las Vegas. “I’m not gonna try to change anything up,” he said. “I’ll just take one rodeo at a time. As long as I stay consistent and get checks, that all adds up in the end.” 1. Chance Schott . ......... 172.5 pts. on 2 2. Jimy Marten .......................... 87 on 1 3. Clayton Savage ............................. 82 Complete results/Page 78

Jason Suntych photo Shad Mayfield was the top money earner at the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede. He took home $11,225 from the NFR Playoff Series stop.

ProRodeo Sports News 7/8/2022

ProRodeo Sports News 7/8/2022

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